Bound: Alternate Ending
by pallasphoenix
Summary: One-Shot. What if Richard thought Kahlan had died? Rated T for mild violence.


_Hey everyone! Sorry I didn't post earlier; I had this "good" idea to write my story on paper first. I am a major procrastinator. Anyway, I won't be working on my other story, "Hear Me Roar, Dance with me Death" due to the fact that I am in the process of writing a Kahlan/Richard love story series I'm thinking of calling "Forbidden Fruit". So yeah, hope you like this story, the idea has been in my head for awhile._

* * *

><p><strong>Bound: An Alternate Ending<strong>

* * *

><p>The blonde sorceress glides down the old rotting staircase of the inn. The place smelled of ale, poor choices, and pleasure.<p>

She smiles to herself, pleased with her plan.

_This will teach him a lesson,_ Nicci thought. Richard had tried earlier to send a message to his friends by tipping a traveler going in their direction.

Nicci had burnt the man on horseback to a smoking crisp.

It was good to be bad.

On top of crushing Richard's hopes, and brutally killing someone right in front of him, Nicci decided to take things to the next level.

She reached the bottom of the staircase, and waited patiently for everyone to see her. Slowly, the men in the tavern turned their heads, prodding one another to look. A hush fell over them as they saw what was waiting at the foot of the stairs.

A beautiful young woman was standing at the entryway from the stairs, with her weight shifted to her left leg. She had soft blonde hair that cascaded down her body to the middle of her back, with icy blue eyes holding a look that could kill, and a whisper of a smile on her face.

The divine creature, or so they thought…

was stark naked.

_Now_, Nicci thought, _Richard will pay for his mistakes in full._

ooo

Kahlan woke up screaming from what she thought was a nightmare. What she was about to encounter, though, was much worse than a nightmare.

She felt a sharp pain on her neck, and when she felt her neck, her fingers brushed over a hickey.

Where did she get that from?

"Kahlan?" Zedd whispered.

Kahlan was kicked in the gut, and she fell back on her blanket with a heavy weight on her chest.

"Zedd, it's Nicci! Something's happening to her!" Kahlan gasped, desperate to catch her breath.

Again and again, she felt groping hands on her body. They were at her neck, at her breasts.

She prayed to the good spirits that they would go no farther.

A tear squeezed out of the corner of her eye, and she felt someone slap her in the face.

What was happening to Nicci?

Zedd didn't know what to do. He couldn't physically help Kahlan. They would just have to wait until Nicci's attackers ceased.

Kahlan let out a yelp, a large cut dragging down the side of her face. Zedd cringed.

She tried to get up off the ground, but it seemed her limbs were tied down.

She pleaded for the madness to stop.

She closed her eyes, waiting for it to end when Cara came running out of the bushes. The loyal Mord'Sith took Kahlan's hand in hers, and Kahlan gave her a small smile before crying out again.

All they could do was watch.

After an hour or so, the pain subsided, and Kahlan was released. Kahlan dove into Cara's awkward embrace, and cried.

How she missed Richard.

ooo

"Cara, if I die, tell Richard it wasn't his fault," croaked Kahlan. Cara was confused, but offered the most comfort she could muster.

"You're not going to die, Mother Confessor."

As soon as the Mord'Sith's completed her utterance, Kahlan collapsed, a newly formed tear rolling down her cheek.

"Mother Confessor! Stay with me!" Cara cried. Kahlan couldn't die, not like this. Cara would make sure her and Lord Rahl would die old and toothless in bed.

"Kahlan, don't you dare die on me!"

"Cara," Zedd scolded, "Let me focus. Kahlan will be alright."

"Zedd, she doesn't have a pulse," Cara confessed, green eyes swimming in tears.

Zedd recited the incantation faster, spreading white sorcerers sand as he went.

ooo

Zedd and Cara were standing before the misty apparition of Kahlan's mother. She looked sullen as she observed Kahlan's predicament.

She turned back to the two, face devoid of emotion. She too was a master of the Confessor's face, as Kahlan was.

Cara could clearly see the resemblance of this strong, proud woman in Kahlan. The leather clad Mord'Sith cleared her throat loudly.

"You need to touch Kahlan in order to break the spell. Then I can revive her with the Breath of Life."

The spirit nodded, and glided smoothly to her daughter.

She wished she had more time, more time to talk to the wonderful woman her daughter had become. Her own flesh and blood she hadn't seen in 28 years.

But she had to be strong, and save her daughter's life.

She dropped down on one knee beside Kahlan, and put a hand to her cheek.

Cara's eyes widened as Kahlan glowed with magic, ripples of golden light pulsating on her body.

A single tear fell from the elder Confessor's face.

She sighed and stood up.

"Treat her well, Cara," she said, and she began to evanesance. Cara nodded, and quickly bent down, her face just above Kahlan's. She exhaled a silvery breath, and the liquid like substance cascaded down into Kahlan's parted lips.

The Confessor took a deep breath, and opened her blue eyes once again. She sat up, and Cara pulled her into a hug.

Kahlan began to cry when she saw the fleeting image of her mother over Cara's shoulder.

"I never got to say goodbye."

"What do you mean?" Cara inquired. She was puzzled. "Didn't you say your goodbyes when she died?"

Kahlan looked at Cara, unable to speak, knowing spiteful words better left unspoken would escape her lips if she did.

"Because I didn't want Kahlan to see her mother die," Kahlan's father said bluntly.

His daughter's hard blue eyes bore into his skull, he could tell.

But he couldn't bear to look at her, after all he had done.

ooo

"I never got the chance to say goodbye," Richard choked out. He hugged Nicci's cold, lifeless body close to him before he came to terms with the fact that this was not his beloved.

This was her murderer.

Disgusted, he tossed the limp body to the side, knowing nothing mattered now. He hoped Nicci's body would be picked apart for years and years until nothing remained but dusty old bones.

He truly wanted her to suffer.

But he knew she wouldn't. She was a servant of the Keeper. He would treat her well.

The young sorceress had not been afraid of the Underworld in life, so why would she be afraid of it in death?

He wished with every fiber of his being that Nicci would have some sort of eternal pain inflicted on her for what she had done.

He ran his hand through his long brown hair in frustration.

Rahl had Kahlan's soul now.

He grabbed the hilt of his sword, not yet ready to unleash its fury upon the world.

But he was ready to end his life, to join his lover in the Underworld.

He couldn't do that, not to Kahlan. She would want him to keep on living, keep fighting the Keeper. She had waited 58 long, lonely years in the future for him to return to her. He could hold on.

He could hold on for the woman who loved him across time.

At that moment, he knew that he had to live.

For Zedd

For Kahlan

For Cara

For the world.

A blinding light flooded the cave, and four Sisters of the Dark now stood before him.

"What a shame. We were really hoping to steal Nicci's Han," said the dark haired Sister. "I guess we'll have to settle for killing you."

Richard scowled, and reached for his sword.

Reached for the fury.

An explosion of rage overtook him, commanding his every thought.

He smiled, knowing he was going to live.

He gripped the Sword of Truth tighter, raising it slowly.

"Dance with me death, for I am ready."

And dance with death he did. Fluid in movement, graceful in stature, he mercilessly cut down every last Sister.

Except one.

The leader, the one who he knew poisoned Nicci, pleaded with him not to kill her. Fear rose up from inside her, blocking her throat.

"You cannot dance with death, Seeker. This will only aid the Keeper," she said, in a last ditch effort to save herself.

Richard smiled knowingly.

"Silly Sister. I am the bringer of death. I have named myself so."

Her head made a muffled thump noise when it hit the floor of the dark cave.

ooo

Richard was sitting on an old tree stump in the middle of a dense forest. This was their meeting point. He really didn't want to face Cara or Zedd.

More importantly, he wasn't ready to see Kahlan.

The fact that she was dead really hadn't sunk in yet for Richard. After killing all those Sisters of the Dark, he was in a daze.

Zedd came through the clearing first, all smiles.

Richard was puzzled, but he didn't hang onto the thought for long.

Kahlan came bounding through the underbrush, dropping her pack and running towards him. She jumped into his waiting arms, and he held her tightly in his embrace.

Words could not express his profound joy.

"I'm so sorry to put you through all that. I almost died, but we-"

Richard put a finger on her lips to stop her mid sentence.

"I don't care. I'm just glad you're here. Alive."

She smiled, and held his hands in hers.

"Always, Richard."

"Always, Kahlan."

**FIN**


End file.
